Rep. Parke Backs Off Bid For State Senate

January 15, 1992|By Susan Kuczka.

State Rep. Terry R. Parke (R-Schaumburg) said Tuesday he has decided to seek re-election to the newly created 53rd House District rather than challenge newcomer Peter Fitzgerald for a northwest suburban Illinois Senate seat.

``My objective is to make sure the northwest suburban area has a strong voice in Springfield, and running for the Senate would give me only a 50-50 shot at winning it against a conservative who looks at the issues the same way I do,`` said Parke, who was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 1985.

``It really didn`t make sense to jeopardize both of our political careers when we stand for the same kind of issues,`` he said.

Parke considered a run for the Senate when the recent GOP-sponsored redistricting of Illinois` legislative boundaries created an open seat in the 27th Senate District.

But Parke, who had represented the 49th House District until the remap moved him into the 53rd District, said an analysis of the new Senate district lines would give Fitzgerald a distinct advantage over him since the bulk of the 27th lies in Palatine Township, where Fitzgerald has served as a GOP precinct captain.

``Palatine Township makes up more than 40 percent of the (primary)

vote,`` Parke said. ``It would just be too difficult to go into Palatine and confront them when Schaumburg Township only represents 20 percent of the vote.``

Parke, who is expected to run unopposed for the GOP nomination, also said his re-election bid already has the announced support of the mayors of Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove, Rolling Meadows and Mt. Prospect.

He said he also hoped to win the official support of the Republican Organization of Schaumburg Township when it meets for an endorsement session Jan. 30.

Parke`s decision is expected to give Fitzgerald an unopposed run in the March 17 primary for the GOP nomination in the 27th Senate District. Rep. Bernard Pedersen (R-Palatine) also had considered a bid for the seat, but opted instead to seek re-election to a sixth term in the 54th House District, where he is expected to be opposed by Palatine Village President Rita Mullins. Although Fitzgerald would be a newcomer in the Illinois General Assembly, he is not a political novice. Four years ago he was narrowly defeated for the 66th House District seat by three-term incumbent Rep. James Kirkland (R-Elgin).

An Inverness resident who is a partner in a Chicago law firm that specializes in corporate litigation, Fitzgerald, 31, said he had contemplated a second run for the Illinois House until the redistricting created the open Senate seat.

On the Democratic side, Mt. Prospect Library Board President William M. Blaine Jr. announced Tuesday that he would be a candidate in the 27th Senate District, which includes Arlington Heights, Mt. Prospect, Palatine, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows and part of Wheeling.

Blaine, director of the Mt. Prospect Chamber of Commerce and a former school teacher, said he would focus his campaign on issues involving education, health care, a woman`s right to choose an abortion, and local control over local issues.